HAZL Hearts
by Rusty the Mouse
Summary: Rated M (not recommended for those aged below 16). An original story set in the RWBY universe. Focused on the adventures of Team HAZL and the challenges they face. Canon characters, such as teachers, from RWBY may be mentioned in passing, but will not have dialogue with the original characters I have created. Enjoy.
1. Honey

Chapter 1

Honey

"READY?!" Rattles and clicks responded to the call as weapons were loaded and guns were poised to shoot. "AIM!" A hush fell across the open field as the wielders breathed and narrowed their eyes at their individual targets. The silence before the shot was the most terrifying time for Honey Duke. It was hard to know what to expect when there were no auditory clues to help draw any logical conclusions. In moments like this, she could only see her target, her weapon, and the impossible dangers that could possibly happen when there was nothing but stillness. The final command, "FIRE!" released her bullets and Honey from her madness. Shots sounded yards away, tall grass was cut, and there was a satisfying pounding as the neat reds and whites of targets were compromised by holes.

An hour later, Honey stiffly trudged through the greenness. Standing still for so long sure left a person feeling older than they actually were. However, the discomfort she was feeling did not show on her face. She found that such expressions showed weakness, weakness she couldn't afford in battle. But, when she saw the curly black locks of her husband in the distance, Honey couldn't help but smile. "Hey, Zephyr-baby," she said sweetly, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

The muscles of a bodybuilder wrapped around her small waist and a deep voice with a soothing drawl tickled her ear. "Hey, freckle-face." Prickly stubble roughly rubbed against her cheek. "Did you miss me?"

Honey chuckled. "Boy, you were only gone for a hour and a half. I didn't miss you." She picked a blade of grass from his gray flannel shirt. "What did you do? Wrestle with the target?"

"It started it. Said I couldn't hit it. Sure showed it a thing or two. Filled all those rings with holes just 'cause I could."

The blonde laughed. "Well, aren't you a badass? Not that I didn't know that already," she said and she gave him a soft kiss on his pale lips, her slim arms wrapping around his neck.

Zephyr smiled down at her and his gray eyes had bits of blue. He ran his fingers along one of her braids and twirled the end between his fingers. "Did I tell you this morning that that shirt makes you look real fine?" A mischievous grin had formed and was flashing white teeth at his wife.

It was an orange flannel shirt he had seen more than a few times, but Honey gave a flirtatious smile. "I think you mentioned it once or twice." A black curl of his was being teased as she said this.

"Well, it's true," he said as if confirming a publicly known fact. He fiddled with the Velcro on one of her brown gloves and his head fell onto her shoulder. "Does it ever bother you?"

"What?"

"The ring."

"No."

"I've said it before, but you don't have to carry it with you all the time, y'know?"

"I know. You don't have to carry yers either."

She felt a smile on her shoulder. "You know I can't do that if yer carryin' yers. What kind of man would I be?"

Honey smiled and gave him a hug. She closed her eyes for a moment and allowed herself to enjoy her husband's warmth. She sighed deeply. "C'mon, let's go find the other two."

"Do we _have _to?" Zephyr whined. The blonde lightly punched him in the chest. He laughed and raised his hands defensively. "Alright! I'm going!" He then took off running and the couple raced each other through the field. Honey won because she found their teammates first despite being four inches shorter than the six-foot Zephyr.


	2. Amethyst

Chapter 2

Amethyst

Honey felt a lot heavier than she looked, so when she pounced on Amethyst in what the Faunus assumed was supposed to be a playful manner, it actually hurt a little. Not that she would ever tell Honey that. It took a lot of effort not to grunt or cry out against the assault and the brunette was a little proud of herself for not doing either of those things. "Got ya!" Honey cried, triumphant. The taller girl was jumping around and giggling like she was an elementary schoolgirl.

"Hello, Honey," Amethyst said with a bit of pep. "What's going on?"

"We were racing and Z just lost! Loser!" she shouted to her husband.

"C'mere, you!" And Honey was stolen from the Faunus' arms in a flash of gray. Amethyst watched the couple wrestle and chase each other, kicking up grass, getting stains on their clothes, and laughing. To her, they looked like puppies.

"Amy," said a smooth voice behind her. When she flipped her black hair, she saw Liberty. The corner of the boy's mouth was twitched up. That was the closest Amethyst ever saw him get to a smile.

"Hello." The Faunus grinned. "They're at it again," she told him and returned her attention to Honey and Zephyr, who were chasing each other up a hill. Then, she saw Honey push her husband and they rolled down the hill, arms wrapped around each other in what could be seen as an embrace or a scuffle.

She glanced up at her teammate. Blue eyes that were more clear than Honey's looked at the spouses. He seemed to be contemplating something, but that was the expression Honey's twin usually wore. He finally said, "At least she's happy."

"Yeah…" Silences like this would be awkward for Amethyst with anyone else. Liberty had a calming aura, regardless of his Semblance. "Do you ever wonder…?" She paused, licking her lips, trying to find the words. "Do you ever wonder if we could be like that? Despite… you know…" The panda Faunus felt a blush rising on her cheeks. It had been a year, but the subject was still uncomfortable for her.

"You'll find happiness like Bee and Z have with a beautiful woman, Amy," he said, not missing a beat.

"You—! You don't have to say like that…!" She buried her face in her hands, trying to hide the redness.

"It's true." But Amy wasn't so sure. There was another pause. The brunette told herself to breathe and she did slowly, small hands still pressed to her face. "Yer a wonderful girl," Liberty said softly. "You'll find someone wonderful to share yer life with. Just like I will. Just like Z and Bee did."

Amethyst peeked out from a space between her fingers. "You're never worried about it?"

She thought she saw his lips pull into a true smile, but her fingers covered the corners of his mouth from her view. "No," he said. Then, he turned away from her and walked towards the hill to his sister and brother-in-law, who were making their way back to the team. Amethyst followed Liberty, staring at the blond short waves of his hair with knitted dark eyebrows.


	3. Zephyr

Chapter 3

Zephyr

Zephyr loved his wife. The way the sun highlighted the waves in her wheat blond bangs reminded him of how her gorgeous hair looked when it was freed from the tight braids she tugged it into every morning. He kissed the spot his gray eyes were glued to. Then, Honey smiled up at him and the wave of emotion he felt was as calming as her twin's Semblance. He gave her one final hug.

"Zephyr…" Honey said softly.

"Hm?"

"We have to go."

He sighed. "Yeah… I know." But when they began walking, his arm was around her shoulder, and he squeezed her closer to him as if still trying to hold his blonde duchess.

After a few hours of classes, Zephyr was in their dorm room. A steady scraping could be heard as his knife shaped a chunk of wood into a simple bird.

"You make a lot of birds, Z," Amethyst stated.

"Birds are nice. Do you want this one?"

"… It's cute."

"You can have it when I'm done, then. Early birthday gift." He flashed his friend a grin. "Should I make it purple like ever'thing else you own?"

"Not everything I have is purple…" Her dark eyes looked off to the side and she fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

"Oh, really?" he asked, pointing at the Faunus' lavender nightgown with his carving knife.

The panda girl blushed. "Purple would be cute, though…" she whispered.

The young man gave a hearty laugh. "All you have to do is say so!" He dropped the unfinished bird and the knife on the bed. "Just be honest, Amy, damn!" He rose and Amy stepped back, but his arm was around her shoulder in a second and her silky hair was being made into a rat's nest by the dark-haired man's knuckles.

"Stop! You're messing up my hair!"

"Are you two having an affair? Should I be worried?"

Upon hearing his wife's voice, he released Amethyst and moved towards his attractively damp Honey. "Nothing to worry about, darlin'. Just messin' with 'er. Let me see those gorgeous locks." His fingers curled around the soft white towel atop Honey's head.

"Don't!" The blonde pressed the towel against her temples.

"C'mon… Yer hair is adorable. Why are you hiding it?" he asked, continuing to gently pull at it.

"Yer the enemy of women. Let it dry a little in there so it's not all crazy."

"Yer no fun." Zephyr embraced her and the yellow PJs she wore. "Where's yer brother?" He added a kiss on the hand that was still holding the towel.

"He went to get snacks. He'll be back in a minute."


	4. Liberty

Chapter 4

Liberty

In his hands, Liberty carried logoed plastic bags of chips and candies. In his mouth, a pretzel stick. He was thinking of nothing, but he wasn't unaware. He saw the old homeless woman, hunched over her cart in the alley. He saw the busy folk hurrying home and the loiterers walking at a pace of two feet every five seconds. And he saw the troublesome-looking group of three. A swagger was in their step and the dark-haired man leading them looked like he wanted to start a fight. When they passed each other, Liberty's blue eyes locked with his for one second and the blond jerked his chin up. The man returned the gesture.

"What're you lookin' at?" growled a voice from behind the blond. Liberty turned his head to see the man glaring at a couple of passerby. He walked more slowly, occasionally glancing back at the Three Thugateers.

Forty-five minutes later, Liberty was in the doorway of his team's dorm room. He held up the bags of snacks.

"You're back!" Honey chimed cheerfully. She set down the fan of cards in her hand face down on the bed. "Don't look, cheater," she said as she hopped off the bed. "Did you get the cheesy things I talked about?" Liberty held up the bag in his left hand. The blond saw Zephyr glance back at Honey, give Amethyst a grin, and pull up the corners of Honey's cards with his thumb. "He looked, didn't he?" The twins' eyes locked. Honey sighed. "He's gonna get it later…" she whispered, grabbing the bag of "cheesy things". The female twin returned to her spot on the bed. "Did something happen on yer way back? You look concerned." The blonde picked up her cards and the game resumed.

"Saw some guys."

"What kind?"

"Punks."

"Gang?"

"Couldn't tell."

"Hmm… Did they give you trouble?"

Liberty shook his short wavy hair.

"Give anyone else trouble?"

"Nope."

"Probably harmless, but we'll be careful. Right, team?"

"Yeah, sure," Zephyr replied.

Amethyst gave a vigorous nod. "Do you want to play with us, Lee?"

Liberty nodded and sat himself on the far end of the bed, placing the plastic bags of chips and treats on either side of him. His brother-in-law and Faunus friend began rummaging through the bags closest to them.

"We'll add you in after this round, 'kay?" the biggest man in the room said.

The blond nodded again, picking a pretzel stick out of one of the snack bags and placing it in his mouth.


	5. The Boxes

Chapter 5

Honey

Honey was an attentive student. She focused on the front of the class, the teacher, the lectures or explanations he gave, and she took quick notes, usually only decipherable by herself. She felt, as the leader of her team, she should be as informed as possible.

Her husband poked her in the arm. "Yer makin' a scary face," he whispered.

She glanced away from the teacher and temporarily turned her attention to Zephyr, whose eyes were glued to the front. "It's my focused face." She scrunched up her face. That got them both to smile.

After class, Team HAZL did at least one extra hour of training. Today, Honey felt strength and endurance would be the best choice for today. "Push-ups!" their leader barked. She fell into a planking position, elbows bent, nose brushing against the grass. "One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! One hand! One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Other hand! One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Crunches!" Her back hit the grass. She felt the sweat that was seeping through her t-shirt. "One! Two! Three! Four! Five!" The vision of a pair of brown loafers and a gray suit interrupted her. "Yes, sir?"

"Training hard as usual, I see."

"Of course, sir."

"When you're done, would you be able to do me a favor?"

"… What's the favor?"

"I just need your team to haul some boxes for me."

"That's fine."

"They're in the storage room of my class. You know where it is, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I'll see you in a bit then."

"Yes, sir," she replied. She watched as he walked away and followed him with her eyes until he was out of sight. "… Break's over! Six! Seven! Eight!"

After their workout, the team's sweaty bodies relocated themselves to the room the teacher had spoken to Honey about. The boxes were stacked high and she was barely able to make out the shelves that lined three of the walls. The blonde pulled a box from the top of one of the stacks. Something about the box felt wrong.

"These don't feel like textbooks, Honey," Zephyr said.

"Could be anything."

"There's a lot."

"Let's hope it's furniture and he's moving."

"And if it's not?"

"We don't know if it's not." She saw her husband's eyes studying the box and saw the electric sparks in his brain flashing behind the rainclouds. "Don't even. We'll be in trouble for doin' that, regardless of what we find."

He shrugged. "Alright, babe."

"If he needs this same large haul done again sometime soon, then we know somethin's up. That acceptable, Sherlock?"

"Yes, ma'am." His goofy grin was disarming. He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Where are we taking them again?"

"The truck outside, remember?"

"Oh, _really_?"

"Shut up, Holmes."

"You realize if they found out we helped move this stuff, then we'll be accomplices, right?"

"We're students who gave our teacher the benefit of the doubt."

"Do you really believe he's doing something illegal?!" Amethyst's earnest voice called from behind her.

Honey turned her head, blue eyes locking with the brunette's concerned brown ones. They held each other for a moment. "That's an excellent question." She turned away from the Faunus' frown of worry and the blonde went silent.


	6. The Poor Boxes

Chapter 6

Amethyst

Amethyst felt the tenseness in the space at the very top of her nasal bone. It just couldn't be true. The box in her arms felt heavier than it had a few seconds ago. She glanced at Liberty. His face was expressionless, as always. Their eyes met… "It's okay," he told her. There were twenty boxes in the loading van. With this round, that made twenty-four boxes.

A student with neon green hair approached them. "Corduroy moving again?"

"Moving?" Amethyst asked.

"He had my team move stuff for him a while ago."

"Oh,_ really_?" Zephyr repeated.

"Shut _up_, Holmes," Honey sternly repeated. The Faunus glanced at her leader. The blonde's blue eyes were locked on the green-haired guy.

"Yeah, really. I thought he might've been moving or transferring or something, but he stayed. It's really weird."

"Yeah, it is…" Amethyst watched Honey say.

A crash was heard. The panda girl dropped her box and covered her head with her arms. Pebbles and pieces hit her skin, leaving minute scratches and the beginnings of the smallest bruises. When the noise had faded away, the girl revealed her face again. She saw the truck had been split open. Boxes were scattered about and broken. Miscellaneous metal bits, weapons, Dust, and white packaging peanuts were among the mess. Her eyes tried to pop out of her head. Her jaw dropped open as if to swallow the situation, so that her stomach might process it better than her mind.


	7. After That

Chapter 7

Zephyr

Zephyr was going to tell Honey "I told you so" when he got the chance. He saw those blue eyes he loved so much. "I told you so," he said. Her eyes turned to daggers.

Much later, his wife was smiling again. The group was back in the dorm room. Honey's warmth was whispering to Zephyr's eyes, telling them close.

"Hey, sleepyhead, go to sleep." Zephyr grumbled in response. He squeezed her. The blonde's hand rubbed his back, ruffling his t-shirt. "They asked a lot of questions today, didn't they?"

"Don't treat me like your little bros," he grumbled.

Honey chuckled. "Sorry, I miss 'em."

"Yeah, I know." He kissed her forehead. Then, he was dreaming of the cornfields back home and playing hide-and-seek with a Honey that was ten years younger. She laughed. He laughed. His heart ached.


	8. Sunrise

Chapter 8

Liberty

There was something in Liberty's body that made him wake up before six o'clock. His watch told him it was precisely 5:15 A.M. He rolled over. Then he pushed his blue blanket downwards and sat up. He turned his head till he saw Amethyst's petite outline underneath her lavender sheets on the other side of the piece of wood that divided their sleeping spaces. He could hear her breathing. He shuffled sideways, climbed down the ladder, and stopped midway. Between the rungs he saw Honey's blond head and Zephyr's curly hair. He resumed his journey downward until his feet touched the floor. He walked over to the dresser and knelt. He opened all three of the blue drawers and plucked out various pieces of clothing. He gathered the clothes into one arm and used the other to close the drawers. He entered the bathroom. He pulled a towel from the rack and placed his clothes underneath it on the sink. He took a shower. When he was finished, he dried himself and dressed. He opened the door. A face he knew better than his own was waiting for him.

"Good mornin'," it said to him.

"Mornin'."

"Wanna go watch the sunrise?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Honey spun around and pulled a sweatshirt from the largest of her three yellow drawers in the dresser. She pulled it over her head.

"Hair's messed up," he told her.

Her fist hit his arm. He felt the corner of his mouth twitch up. "It doesn't matter right now." She pulled her hood up, stuffed her hair under it, and pulled the strings tightly.

Liberty jerked his head towards the door. He led and held it open for her. She passed him and he glanced at the bunk bed. Amethyst and Zephyr were still there. He closed the door behind him. The twins walked to the roof in silence.

The concrete was cold, but Honey's warmth made it tolerable. Her hooded head made his shoulder uncomfortable. The dark blue of the night sky was pushed back with light blue, then purples, oranges, pinks, and yellows.

"The best part of the sunrise is all the colors," Honey said.

"No."

"No?"

"It's morning."

"Hmm… That's the third best thing for me."

"The second?"

"We're watching together."

The corners of Liberty's lips pulled up. He wrapped an arm around his sister and rested his head on hers. The sun crawled above the horizon. "Corduroy was working for someone."

"Who?"

"Won't say."

"Hmmm… Will they send a team to search for the mystery boss?"

"Dunno."

The sun rose higher.

"Lee?"

"Hm."

Sunrays peeked above the rooftops. "Don't worry."

"I worry."

"Worry too much and – "

"I know." She sounded sad.

"Then don't."

"Okay."

Liberty patted her shoulder and rubbed her arm. The sun slid upwards into a scene devoid of all color except the blue of the daytime sky. It climbed until it threatened to blind blue eyes.

"I'll see you inside," Honey said.

Liberty detached himself from her and listened to her footsteps fade away.


	9. Wake Up

Chapter 9

Honey

Honey curled her fingers around the door handle. She pushed downwards. She placed a hand on the door, took a deep breath, and pushed. The door hit the wall with a bang. "WAKE UP!"

Amethyst's head of messy dark hair popped up. The sheets on the bed of the bottom bunk moved and a human incoherent noise could be heard. Honey stared at the head of her husband poking out of the top of the sheet. "Go take a shower, Amy." Sheets rustled and bare feet hit the rungs of the ladder that connected the top bunk to the floor. Blue eyes followed the movement of a zombie-like panda Faunus that swayed slightly as it walked to the dresser on the other side of the room. Honey moved to stand in front of Zephyr's line of vision. "Wake up." The bathroom door was heard opening and closing. "Hey. Zephyr-baby, wake up." She shook his shoulder. He whined. He pulled her arm.

"Go back to _sleep_, Honey," he begged. His arms wrapped around her waist.

"No." She stepped away from him. He grumbled and held her tighter. "We have things to do. Wake up." She continued to step away, pulling her husband off of the bed. When his stomach was still in contact with the bed, Honey took one more step and he had to release her. He hung off the bed with his fingertips touching the floor and his face against the mattress… He slid to the floor, wiggling a little. He rolled onto his side. Honey stepped in front of him and knelt. "Hey." She reached out a finger to poke him and Zephyr pounced. He pulled her down onto the floor and began to tickle her. The blonde squealed and giggled.


End file.
